North Macedonia’s key industrial sectors, including mining, textiles, automotive, and heavy industry, are confronting a fresh wave of layoffs, with over 1,000 jobs lost so far this year, according to official data. The decline is most pronounced in the mining and metal industries.
Since the start of 2025, around ten textile factories have closed, and two foreign investors employing roughly 1,000 people have announced departures, while mining and automotive production and earnings have also fallen. Workers are among those most affected.
“We were told the company is losing money, staff numbers had increased, so layoffs were necessary,” said a young mother of two, one of about 30 employees in the small eastern mining town of Makedonska Kamenica who lost her job under severance agreements. Finding new employment in smaller regional cities remains a serious challenge.
Economics professor Dimitar Nikolovski at Prilep University attributes the industrial downturn to global market trends, energy crises, political instability, and disrupted global supply chains.
“Foreign-owned companies, particularly subcontractors integrated into global supply chains, are most affected. This includes automotive and textile firms reliant on foreign orders or suppliers,” Nikolovski said, adding that Asian competition is putting additional pressure on European companies.
Foreign Investment Pullout
The greatest immediate impact is in Technological Industrial Development Zones (TIDZ), where two major U.S. automotive companies plan factory closures, potentially leaving at least 1,200 workers unemployed.
Aptiv, an Irish-American automotive parts manufacturer, intends to close its Bunardzhik facility by the end of 2026 unless market conditions improve. The TIDZ authority confirmed the plant employs 500 staff, with layoffs to be phased alongside severance payments. The closures are part of a global restructuring strategy, not due to poor local profits; Aptiv reported revenues of €32 million and net profits of €3.5 million in 2024.
Dura Automotive Systems, registered in TIDZ Bunardzhik 2, has also ceased production of electric vehicle battery housings due to canceled Audi orders. The firm, which once employed more than 730 workers across multiple plants, has gradually reduced staff over the past year. Audits confirmed violations of state support agreements, prompting recovery measures.
Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski downplayed concerns, emphasizing new domestic and foreign investments are expected before year-end.
Textile Industry in Decline
Textile manufacturing continues to struggle. About ten factories in eastern regions closed within eight months due to lower foreign orders. The sector employs roughly 25,000 people but has been shrinking since 2010, a trend accelerated by the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and economic troubles in Germany, the main export market.
Exports to Germany accounted for 65.2% of Macedonia’s textile output in 2024, down from 14.6% of total exports a decade earlier to 6.15% in 2024. The Ministry of Economy and Labour cites rising energy and raw material costs, global supply chain shifts, and a shortage of skilled labour as key factors.
Mining Sector Challenges
In mining, Sasa lead and zinc mine in Makedonska Kamenica offered voluntary severance packages to 33 employees, while total staffing in the sector is down by 2–2.5% year-on-year in 2025. Owned by Central Asia Metals, Sasa cites higher costs, difficult geology, and falling production as reasons for workforce reductions. Despite challenges, the company continues to contribute to local taxes and community projects.
The decline also affects metallurgy. Euronickel Industry, formerly Feni, has suspended nickel ore processing for over 15 months, leaving roughly 130 staff to maintain equipment while 610 employees were declared technologically redundant.
Underlying Causes
Analysts point to falling global nickel and ferro-nickel prices, oversupply from Indonesia, reduced Chinese demand, and high energy costs—representing 40–50% of production expenses in nickel manufacturing—as drivers of the sector’s instability.
Professor Nikolovski notes that as a small, open economy, North Macedonia has limited maneuvering room. Strengthening domestic production, workforce skills, and vocational education are essential to improve competitiveness and resilience to global shocks.